Maricopa County Animal Care and Control currently has about 850 dogs in its two shelters, 200 over capacity.

This is unusual at this time of year, as adoption numbers have slowed in recent weeks, as is common during the summer.

Kim Powell of the shelter says this is a nationwide problem.

“It's not just here, but a lot of people already have dogs or maybe they're just in financial trouble. The economy isn't where a lot of people want it to be. The housing market also has some issues. “It's causing this,” he said. Powell.

Powell said she had to downsize the space in her kennel to accommodate the extra dogs.

A free large dog adoption event will be held this weekend.

At select Arizona Humane Society locations, you can adopt larger dogs for free until Sunday, January 14th.

The Humane Society says there is “very little” space available for dogs over 50 pounds. And owners mainly want to surrender large dogs and are facing a backlog of reservations.

Jennifer Armbruster of the Humane Society said large dogs can bring a lot of love to a home, but caring for them can also be a lot of work.

“It's true that the economy and housing are at play here,” Armbruster said. “If you think about people who are struggling to pay their rent and have to find new housing, there are weight restrictions. There may be breed restrictions on the types of dogs you can bring.”

Armbruster said he hopes people will turn to the Humane Society's resources and that community solutions will be developed to keep people and pets together.

All AHS pets are spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped.

Find adoptable dogs through AHS

• www.azhumane.org/adopt
• Arizona Humane Society South Mountain Campus, 1521 W. Dobbins Rd., Phoenix.
• PetSmart Scottsdale store